Ginny Weasley and the Prisoner of Azkaban
by Benture
Summary: What happened to Ginny, following the Chamber of Secrets? She couldn't have gotten over it overnight. She couldn't have NOT been affected by it. So what happened during her second year? She definitely spent some time Meeting a Mass-Marauder, Finding Friends, and Ascertaining her Animagus!
1. Back to Bill

A/N: JK Rowling is British, rich, and owns Harry Potter. I am not JK Rowling.

**Ginny Weasley and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Chapter 1- Back to Bill**

**G**inny Weasley woke up screaming, cold sweat running down her neck. _Where is Tom? Didn't I kill Harry? Where am I? I'm not in the Chamber of Secrets- that's for sure. I'm…_

Home. She was in her bedroom, where some socks were were scattered across the floor, where Gwenog Jones's poster stood on the wall next to her, and where Tom was nowhere near.

Harry had killed Tom. Everything was alright, to some extent. Ginny let out a sigh, and slid off her bed, walking downstairs to the kitchen. Shaking, she got herself a cup of warm milk, drinking it until she had the image of Tom Riddle out of her head.  
_  
__I can't believe that I thought he was my best friend. I can't believe that I trusted him._

Ginny looked up at her family clock, her hand pointing at home, and then moved her gaze to their traditional clock, pointing at 3 AM. _Five more hours till the rest of the family wakes up._ Ginny made her way to the broomshed, taking out Fred's Cleensweep. She quickly got on it, and began to ride. Night flying was Ginny's outlet- she could still remember the first time she tried.

~~~~~~  
Little 6 years old Ginny Weasley was furious! How come all of her brothers could ride- even Ron?! He was only a year older than her!

"No, Ginny. You're just a girl." Just a girl! Her hero, Mae Connes could ride just fine on a broom! Was Mum, "Just a girl?" No, she wasn't!

Ginny was so furious, she didn't realize she bumped into Molly Weasley in the flesh. "Ginny? Dear, pay attention."

Ginny could see a plan of revenge hatching before her very eyes, "Mum...," she sniffled, "Cha-Charlie and Gred and F-Forge are putting R-ron on a broo-m and they..." Ginny began to burst into tears, not finishing. Her mum's face turned red, and she ran to the backyard.

"CHARLIE, FRED, AND GEORGE WEASLEY- GET YOUR BROTHER OFF THAT BROOM RIGHT NOW!", she roared, beginning her rant. Ginny secretly walked to the kitchen to set the table. By the time Molly's lecture was over, Ginny was nearly done setting the table. She placed the final cup down when her mum walked in, "Oh, Ginny, did you set the table for me? Such a wonderful child. I just wish the rest of your brothers would follow your example," before hugging her. Ginny stuck her tongue out at her brothers behind her mum's back. Charlie's jaw dropped, while Fred and George seemed impressed by her skills.

When dinner ended, the boys were all sentenced to their rooms, and Ginny's parents went upstairs to talk about what had happened. They always used silencing and locking charms whenever this happened, so no one knew what they were conversing about.

Seeing nobody, and hearing nobody, Ginny snuck to the broomshed. She knew her brothers would have left it unlocked because of her mum's rant. Ginny looked at the various brands of brooms. She knew how to read some words, and the alphabet, so she could tell broom from broom. Ginny decided to use Bill's broom- since Ron used Charlie's broom. Outside, she picked it up, and tried to ride it. Simple to say, it didn't fly. She got off the broom, and tried sitting on it again. It didn't work once more. Ginny got off the broom, sat on it, and jumped, but all she did was fall on her bum. Ginny stood up, glaring at the broom, before yelling at it to, "GET UP!" and it did. It flew up to her hand. Ginny gave the broom a smirk, and tried lifting one leg over it, sitting on the broom. She was hovering!

And then she fell. She practiced hovering for hours and hours, and managed to hover in a circle by sunrise. When the sky turned pink, Ginny quickly put the broom away, ran to her bedroom, and fell asleep when her head hit the pillow.

Ginny decided to just fly around in the moonlight, basking in the scent of fresh air, beginning to feel a bit better by the time the sun rose, and then proceeded to put away Fred's broomstick. Sneaking into her room, she noticed the time was 5:30- her mum would be up soon. She crept into her bed, and felt her lack of sleep catching up to her.

"Ginny dear, wake up."

Ginny groaned, rubbed her eyes and looked up questioningly to the blue eyes of her dad. "We have really good news Ginny! We're going to Egypt! We can visit your older brother Bill!" Ginny's eyes widened at the name of her eldest brother. She was immensely excited to see him again, after not seeing him in three years.

Ginny hopped out of the bed, but then realized that a trip would cost more than they could afford. She looked at her father, and as if he knew her thoughts he excitedly added, "I won 700 Galleons in the draw! Hurry up and pack, we'll be gone for two weeks!" Following that statement, a large explosion shook the house. "Merlin's Beard!" exclaimed Arthur. "What was that?" He left quickly to investigate, hoping that Molly wouldn't overreact.

To be honest, Arthur Weasley was worried for his daughter. After the whole Chamber incident, Ginny wasn't responsive to anyone in the family. She didn't talk about it to anyone, and everyone in the house heard the screams that occurred every night, without fail. Arthur felt guilty that after one week of failure, everyone gave up on helping her cope, except for Molly, who took it to the extremes. She even fed Ginny's cereal to her! So Arthur, pitying Ginny, encouraged Molly give Ginny some alone time and explained that if Ginny needed them, she would come to them.

Little did he know that the first week helped her more than he believed. She really appreciated it, and was disappointed when no one came to her aid after a while. Ginny thought that her family didn't love her enough to visit her, reminding her of her time with Tom, repeating that no one loved her, and no one would come save her because who really liked the youngest? Ron ignored her all the time to spend time with his mates, and Gred and Forge were always with their own friends, being popular because of their pranks. Pompous Percy was the only real brother to talk to her, and even he ignored her plenty times to be off with his girlfriend Penny. Ginny was all alone, which fueled herself to write to Tom all the time, penning about her loneliness and how much her brothers hurt her. She found herself stupid and naïve for talking to Riddle, but for some sick reason, she found herself missing him. In a way, they were best friends, she told him everything, and he showed her parts of his life, which now that she thought about it, could be falsified. But the point was, that now that everything was over, she found herself in the same situation. She hoped Bill would love her enough to spend time with her, but to be honest, she doubted it. After all, he was much older than her, and maybe like Ron, wouldn't want her to embarrass him.

Sighing, Ginny opened her wardrobe with a small option of robes and cloaks. She packed the ones that changed in temperature according to the weather. She then went down to eat breakfast with the whole family. As she sat down at the table, her mum paused, and gave her a bowl of cereal.

Then, Percy arrived, announcing his Head Boy status at Hogwarts. Molly took him into a hug, demanding he show her his badge, before talking about his duties and how proud she was of him, forgetting about the twins and their prank.

The twins, taking advantage of this opportunity, sat down on either side of her. _Probably because Mum won't yell at me._ But to the twins, it was because they missed talking to Ginny. Their mum refused them the right to talk to their sister or spend time with her, because she thought they might accidentally hurt her feelings.

"So Gin-Gin", Fred began.  
"As the wonderful brothers we are"  
"We've decided to"  
"Help you pack and maybe"  
"Prank our Ickle-Ronniekins a bit"  
"What do you say?"

Obviously, Ginny said yes, not wanting to miss an opportunity to spend time with her brothers. She and the twins ran upstairs and placed parts of their cereal and toast in his face, before dunking milk on his head. Ron woke up, gasping, and began to yell at Ginny and the twins as they ran down the stairs.

In the meantime, Percy was purposefully distracting his Mum. He saw how lonely Ginny was and actually began to blame it on the Boy-Who-Lived himself. If he didn't take Ron's wholehearted attention, maybe Ron would pay more attention to Ginny. Maybe she wouldn't have trusted He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Maybe she wouldn't have nightmares. Maybe Ginny would look as happy and as full of life as she used to. Believe it or not, Percy was beginning to hate said Boy.

Ginny was done with packing, and was depressed to find out she wouldn't be able to night-fly. In fact, she was terrified. What if someone else heard her scream and thought the worst? What would Bill think? He probably knew about her situation, and was probably disappointed in her. If not, maybe even disgusted.

Ginny walked along the line with her family to the International Fireplace that was connected to Egypt. It was huge, and people went in groups of three- hers had her mum and dad.

Sooner than later, she went in, and came out through the Receiving Fireplace in Egypt. Once everyone was accounted for, they began searching for a person with Weasley hair, and of course, her mum found Bill first, Ginny second. Ginny ran over, shouted his name to get his attention, and hugged him tightly. "Hey Ginny," Bill's soft and comforting voice whispered.

After everyone spoke to Bill, they all went over to an inn to check in. The winnings guaranteed them a Phoenix Suite, the best kind, fit with enough beds to fit all of them. Ginny roomed with Bill and Percy, Ron with Gred and Forge. Charlie was still in Romania, _oh well_.

Once they finished unpacking, it was nighttime, so they all decided to get enough rest for the next day.

_"Ginny, you naïve fool. No one loves you. No one needs you." Tom Riddle hissed to her._  
_"No-my mum loves me, my dad needs me." Ginny spoke defiantly._  
_"Oh, really? Look at this then." Ginny was sucked into his diary and was shown a family, where everyone was present, but her. Even Harry and Hermione were there._  
_"Hermione, I must say, you must know a lot about muggles, no?" her dad asked._  
_"Oh yes, did you know…" as Hermione continued to speak about them, the family smiled at her._  
_Percy then chose to comment, "You know, you're much more amusing then our OLD little sister."_  
_Old little sister? What did Percy mean?_  
_Ron added, "Yeah, Ginny the Ninny sucked. Really, who liked her?"_  
_Ginny was heartbroken, how could Ron say that about her?_  
_Murmurs of agreement were said. That caused another stab._  
_Then, Molly added, "I regret giving birth to her. She tried to attack you. She had a horrible temper, and never acted like a girl." That caused Ginny's caused another stab, and another, and another, and soon- it broke._  
_Ginny was then whisked out of the book, to Tom's eyes, and now, this time, Harry didn't come to save her._

Ginny awoke yet again screaming. She took a few deep breaths to calm down, and then she became acquainted with her surroundings. This wasn't the Burrow.

Egypt. Ginny was in Egypt. Right.

Ginny also noticed that Bill was awake as well, and so was Percy.  
Bill had woken up in the middle of the night, and chose to get a midnight snack like he usually did. Taking his wand-you never know when you need that- he opened a bag with snacks, and began to eat a treacle tart. Halfway through, screaming sounded throughout the suite. Bill ran to the source, his room, wand in hand, expecting to see a dark wizard. What he did not expect was his little sister, crying and trying to calm herself down. Looking over to Percy, he saw that he was looking at Ginny with a pained expression on his face. Percy was a prat, sure- but even he would help his own little sister. Once Ginny calmed down, he looked over to her and asked, "Ginny did you have a nightmare? What was it about? Do you want to talk about it?"

Ginny didn't expect Bill to worry for her that much, but maybe it was just in the beginning, like the rest of the family. Ginny replied, "The usual, Chamber and all."

Bill was confused, _what chamber_? Was she talking about a bedroom? Who has reoccurring nightmares about a bedroom? Percy then whispered to him, "The Chamber of Secrets, William." Oh, now that makes sense. Wait...

"It's not a myth?"  
"Truthfully. Ginevra opened it."

Bill's jaw dropped. His little innocent sister opened that? Yes they were purebloods but, his family couldn't have opened it. Their family ran generations of Gryffindors- not Slytherins.

Ginny knew they were whispering about her, but it felt like it was behind her back, and it hurt, so she said "If you're going to talk about me, why not tell me what you're talking about."

Bill immediately asked her, "How-Why did you open the Chamber of Secrets?"

Ginny explained, "T-Tom", it was weird to say his name aloud, "I was given his diary and wrote in it, thinking it was a gift from Mum, and then he wrote back and was so nice to me. So we kept on writing-back and forth, and then I started to lose my memory. When I began to suspect him, I threw in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, but then later on I saw it with Harry, and took it from him. T-Tom was angry so he took me to the Chamber and said I would be there for all eternity, and no one would ever come for me- but Harry came, and took me out of there, destroying the diary."

Bill was astounded. Why didn't anyone tell him this? But he still had one more question. "Ginny, Who's Tom?"

"V-Vol-d-dem-mort," she sobbed. Voldemort took possession of his little sister? Ginny talked with Voldemort? He wanted to go straight to his parent's room and ask why they never told him, but right now, he hugged Ginny. She needed him more. That night, Bill stuck with Ginny. He asked Percy if he wanted to hug Ginny throughout the night as a joke, but Percy actually said yes. With her two brothers, that night, Ginny fell back to sleep, without a nightmare.


	2. Egypt, Birthdays, and Hearty Talks

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Harry Potter, If I did- would I be writing fanfictions? Ah yes, and many lines are from the actual book, and I don't own those FOR THE EXCEPTION OF MY CHANGES!

**Chapter 2: Egypt, Birthdays, and Hearty Talks**

After that night, Ginny Weasley awoke to yelling and fighting from her parents' room. Placing her ear to the door, she noticed Bill, Percy, and their parents in an extremely fierce argument.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" _Oh, he didn't know?_ That explained why he had wanted her to tell him about it.

"It's not exactly something you casually mention in a letter you know, 'Oh, by the way Bill, Ginny was possessed by_ Voldemort_!' We wouldn't have been able to, anyways, with the rate you've been sending us letters! If you would like to know how Ginny is, you should tell us about yourself!" Ginny cringed. _Ouch._

"I do! I send letters!"

"Once a month does not tell us how you are. We worry so often! _What if Bill got hurt? Is Bill ignoring us? Aren't we good enough for him?_" Bill quietly stood as his mum continued to make her questions. Maybe he should write letters more often, if that's how they felt. If they thought that he didn't care, they were mistaken. Or were they?

"And _how _did you find out about it?" Bill was ready to answer this. His Mum was wonderful, but she wasn't helping Ginny, who needed her.

"_She was screaming!_ She woke up and told me about You-Know-Who _possessing_ her! Percy and I were there when she _needed us!_"

This took Molly out of her temper. Not love her daughter? She loved her enough to be there for her…_Were you? You stopped caring for her. You stopped coming to her._

Then, accidentally, Ginny lost her balance, falling into the door, causing it to open.

"Ginny!" Bill said, surprised.

Ginny then acted as if she heard nothing, and asked Bill if they could have breakfast now. The tension during the meal felt very tense. Bill was glaring at their parents, Percy the same- Molly glared right back. All the while, Arthur was trying to calm his wife. When Ron, Fred, and George joined them, they didn't feel the tension.

"So Georgie-Porgie, what _will _we do today?'

"Hmm... Maybe look around tombs for giant spiders left to protect them?"

"Yes, no-one can withstand us handsome devils. They must come with us to-"

"Haunt dear Ronnikins."

Meanwhile, Bill was thinking about what to do with Ginny. He wanted to spend time with her. The twins' conversation provided him a stroke of genius. "Ginny! Let's go to visit some tombs! I know of some excellent tours that I know you'll love!"

Molly looked ready to protest, but the glare she received from Percy silenced her. After all, it was _Percy _who was glaring at her, and he never, ever had done so before.

And so, after everyone got ready, they headed over to a pyramid, coming through the opposite entrance as the Muggles of course. Once everyone was in, they all decided to go to different parts of the tour. Ron wanted to go to the sections about Egyptian food, but there weren't any, so he joined Fred and George who wanted to go to the burial chamber, while Percy wanted to go to the magical artifacts section. Bill then asked what Ginny wanted to do. She decided to do the same as Fred and George. Ron, wanting to be near the twins, followed them. The five of them came to a part of the tomb that was not yet excavated. Bill, being a curse-breaker, was given permission to let the four of them into the area.

By the end of this experience, everyone was smiling, even Ginny. She managed to spook the twins by mimicking their mum after they managed to open a tomb. _I will never forget that moment, _Ginny thought giggling.

And so, they continued this routine- sleeping next to Bill and Percy, occasionally having a nightmare, joking with the twins, and exploring pyramids. After a week or two, Charlie surprised them all by showing up. He promised he wouldn't leave until a few days after Ginny's birthday. He then joined them on their routine, providing stories about dragons and his life in Romania. When Charlie was awoken by one of Ginny's nightmares, he came to investigate like Bill did a while ago. They informed him of the events of her first year, and then Ginny and her three eldest siblings began to sleep next to one another. Fred and George came nights later, but Ron never did because he always slept through the screams. It was like a happy dream she didn't want to escape.

* * *

Finally, the eleventh of August arrived; Ginny's twelfth birthday. When Ginny woke up, the room was empty. Not minding it, she quickly dressed, brushed her teeth and hair, and exited into the kitchen, ready to find out what her day would be like, (it being her birthday and all.) Once she entered, she was greeted with "Happy Birthday!" and everyone proceeded to give her their presents.

Ron gave her chocolate frogs, her favorite. Fred and George gave her a box of pranks, including a book that sang an embarrassing poem about whoever opens it. Then, Percy gave her a book called, "Advanced Transfiguration", before Bill gave her a necklace with an ankh on it, which they had found in a tomb together. Charlie gave her the best present of all though, a _baby dragon! _Ginny squealed before jumping on top of her second eldest brother and giving him an extremely tight hug. "Gin-ny can't breathe…" he gasped.

Percy then asked, "Charles, isn't it illegal to own dragons in residential areas?" Ginny let Charlie go so he could answer Percy's question.

"It is Perce. That's why this isn't an _actual _dragon."

"What is it then?" Ginny asked, confused. It _looked _like a dragon.

"It's a _toy _dragon." _What's a toy dragon? It looks pretty lively to me. _Charlie seemed to be able to read her mind, as he continued, "It's not like cards, it's a miniature, kind of like a toy broom. It can't hurt you or anything."

"So how do you," Fred began.

"Make one?" George finished.

"Basically, it's kind of like breeding a toy dog. We used a lenonius lizard, enlarged it, and bred it with a larger dragon with recessive genes in terms of strength and the like. The end product is Ginny's dragon."

"So what was the other dragon?" Bill asked.

"He was an Antipodean Opaleye. That's why her eyes have no pupils."

Ginny smiled. "I'm naming her Seraphina." Seraphina then let out a little yawn, causing Ginny to giggle. "Charlie, can I take her to school with me?"

Charlie answered, "I would think so, but only if Dumbledore agrees. She might have to stay with Hagrid, but I doubt so. We'll ask Dumbledore later."

She then looked at her parents, who gave her a cake and a new Gryl, a small device that played music after you cast the song's charm into the hole. There was also a hole to tilt wands in order to increase and decrease volume.

Once everyone finished their cake, they wandered over to a tomb about an Egyptian noble whose name was… Ginny! Well, more like Inekra, but it sounded close enough. Anyways, it was cool, being in her tomb. Once the sun set, and everyone had arrived at the suite, Molly and Arthur pulled their daughter over.

"Ginny," her father began, "we want to begin by apologizing to you."

Her Mum nodded, "We were horrible parents, and we didn't help you after the incident."

Her father added, "But we do love you, don't doubt that. We realize that we hurt you by not being there for you, but we will now. We're really sorry Ginny. We're really sorry."

Tears welled up in Ginny's eyes, as she pulled her parents into a hug. "I forgive you. Both of you…" Ginny gasped in her tears, "If you want you can join Bill, Perce, Charlie, Gred, Forge and me in our circle of sleep."

Her parent's hugged her back, "We'll join." But they quickly asked, "But what about Ron?"

Ginny let go. "Oh, Ron must feel so lonely. We should invite him too." Ginny ran over to Ron, tapping his shoulder.

"Hey Ron, do-do you want to join us- me, in the circle of sleep. We all sleep together in the same room, no playing or talking, or hugging, or anything. Please... for me? It helps with the nightmares."

Ron hugged Ginny and agreed. "I'm sorry Ginny. I was worried that you were angry at me for being a bad brother. That you didn't want me as one anymore."

Ginny shook her head, "Never." She took his hand and led him to the room. Bill accioed a sleeping bag next to Ginny, and Ron sat there.

"G'night," The family whispered at their little fire, and they all fell asleep.

* * *

Or so most thought…

_Poke. Poke. Poke._

"What?" Ginny asked, irritated.

"Ginny, it's Percy."

"Yes, Percy?"

"I have one last present for you."

That woke Ginny up. "Yeah?" Percy never gave more than one gift to anyone.

"Here," Percy handed Ginny another book, entitled, "How-To: Animagus Edition." Ginny, shocked, read the cover once more, to double check if she read it right. She rubbed her eyes, and read it a third time. Yes, it was a book on how to become an Animagus!

"Percy, is that _really _you?"

"Yes, it _is _me Ginevra. Now look, this may seem strange, but I wanted to give you this book to boost up your confidence when we get to Hogwarts. I don't want you to feel isolated because of some of your classmates and teachers due to last year's … Events." Ginny was so touched that Percy cared this much about her. She hugged him, tightly, before kissing him on the cheek and going to sleep.

Percy looked at Ginny caringly, "Good night Ginevra."

* * *

It was now August 23rd, and the day of departure. Oh, she'd miss Egypt, and Bill, and Charlie, and all those amazing days and nights with her family! Ginny began to sob, hopelessly, into Bill's cloak.

"Hey, Min-Gin, it'll be okay. I'll write, and you'd better too; so stop crying." Ginny furiously nodded her head before walking into the International Fireplace. She waved goodbye to Bill, before arriving at the Burrow, and tears flooded her cheeks again.

* * *

The day before September 1st, Ginny awoke next to Percy, Ron, Fred, George, and her parents. During breakfast, Arthur told them a hilarious story about Ron's best friend, Harry Potter, who had blown up his aunt. He was also the subject of Ginny's hopeless crush. Molly immediately insisted that they all went to the Leaky Cauldron to find him. Of course, he wasn't there. They then ventured to Flourish and Botts, thinking that he hadn't got his books yet. While he wasn't there, Ron's other best friend, Hermione Granger, was, and so she joined them on their 'Search for Harry'. Funny, this could be a book title: _The Search for Harry Potter_. It sounded nice too. While in Madam Malkin's, Ginny remembered that she had to do something important, and so she asked Hermione to come outside with her for a second.

"Ginny, is something wrong?"

Nervously, Ginny replied, "Yes, there is, Hermione. I-I want to say that I'm sorry, you know, for what I did last year. I know you probably won't forgive me- after all, I _did _petrify you, but I just wanted you to know that I'm really, really, sorry."

"Oh, it's alright Ginny, you weren't you. _I _should apologize for what I did earlier- to you."

"Huh?"

"I mean- we were so wrapped up in ourselves, and even though we noticed weird things about you, we never acted on them. In addition, we never included you in anything. We never talked to you, and always left you alone. We're part of the reason you were possessed, in a way."

"It's- it's alright."

"And if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you." This caused tears to well up in Ginny's eyes, and then she hugged Hermione. Hermione hugged back, and as they were on their Search for Harry, they talked a bit, and each found out that the other was rather fun to be around.

As they began to give up on their search, they went to an ice-cream parlor to grab a snack. Ginny got chocolate, while Ron and Hermione had vanilla. Then, Ginny and the others spotted black hair, before Ron and Hermione yelled, "Harry, HARRY!"

Due to a horrid crush she had on Harry after he had saved her life, Ginny was prone to blush and act shy whenever she was around him. Ron and Hermione left her, again, to head for Harry bloody Potter. She sighed, before paying for her ice-cream. She noticed that the Trio had left, and so she walked over to a broom store.

She looked at the brooms inside the store longingly, paying close attention to the Firebolt. _I wish I could get that._

After checking the clock, noticing it was almost half past four, she began to run out the door. _Mum's going to kill me. _Halfway through the distance needed to get to the bar they chose to meet, she bumped into a girl with chestnut hair.

"Oops-sorry!" the other girl said. She stood up, before lending her hand out to Ginny. Ginny took it quickly, letting it go as fast as she could. She didn't want friends right now. All they did was betray her. They would use her. She was fine with only family.

"Wait!" The other girl caught up with Ginny. "Hello- I'm Astoria. Astoria Greengrass," she introduced herself. It didn't look like she would go away.

"Ginny Weasley."

"Have I seen you before?" Astoria asked. Ginny wondered when she would leave. It was only a matter of time. Nobody likes being near the girl who opened the Chamber of Secrets.

"Yeah, probably in the Daily Prophet or at Hogwarts."

"Why in the Daily Prophet?" Not because of the Chamber, that's for sure. Nobody told their parents of what had occurred, as either they loved Hogwarts, trusted Dumbledore, or were ashamed to not be the Heir of Slytherin.

"Oh, because my family won the big galleon draw."

"Ah. Are you a Gryffindor?" _I'll just answer her questions. Soon, she'll be horrified. Soon, she'll walk away._

"Yeah, what house are you in?" _And maybe I'll make some talk as well._

"Ravenclaw- Blimey! I just remembered, you're the girl who opened the Chamber of Secrets!" _It was time for her to walk away. _Ginny wouldn't hold it against Astoria. _After all, who wants to be nearby someone like Ginny Weasley. _Tears began to well in Ginny's eyes. She took a deep breath.

"Are you okay?" Astoria didn't leave yet?

"You didn't walk away?" Ginny asked, surprised. Ginny wiped away her tears.

"Of course. I wouldn't." Ginny was embarrassed. She was making a fool of herself. But maybe, maybe she and Astoria could be friends-NO- acquaintances. Friendly acquaintances. That would be okay. She could handle that.

"Sorry, just- you know. What year are you in?" Ginny asked, changing the topic.

"I'm going to be in 2nd year now. You?"

"Excuse me, my mum is expecting me! See you on the train?"

"Yeah, bye!"

Ginny began to sprint to the Leaky Cauldron, slowing down once she saw her mum.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley, you shall _never _run off for that long without telling me again." Molly was very concerned. She had _no _idea where Ginny had been for the past hour or so.

"Yes mum."

And so they all walked in, Percy becoming his pompous self again, Ginny her blushing self.

When she saw Harry, she couldn't help but turn red, and have her heart beat erratically in her chest. She didn't look at him again, muttering "Hello."

Percy, however, stuck his hand out and said, "Harry. How nice to see you."

"Hello, Percy." Peeking at Harry's face, which seemed ready to burst into laughter, Percy then shook his hand and said, "I hope you're well?", acting as if he was the most important person on Earth.

"Very well, thanks -"

"Harry!" said Fred, elbowing Percy out of the way and bowing deeply. "Simply splendid to see you, old boy -"

"Marvelous," said George, pushing Fred aside and seizing Harry's hand in turn. "Absolutely spiffing."

Percy scowled. _Why did they always act this way?_

"That's enough, now," said Mum.

"Mum!" said Fred as though he'd only just spotted her and seizing her hand too. "How really corking to see you -"

"I said, that's enough," Mum said, depositing her bags and such in an empty chair. "Hello, Harry, dear. I suppose you've heard our exciting news?" She pointed to the brand-new silver badge on Percy's chest. "Second Head Boy in the family!" she said, swelling with pride.

"And last," Fred muttered under his breath.

"I don't doubt that," said Mum, frowning suddenly. "I notice they haven't made you two prefects."

"What do we want to be prefects for?" said George, looking revolted at the very idea. "It'd take all the fun out of life."

Ginny giggled. _They would say something like that. _But then she turned redder, if that was possible.

"You want to set a better example for your sister!" Mum snapped.

"Ginny's got other brothers to set her an example, Mother," said Percy loftily. "I'm going up to change for dinner..."

He disappeared and George heaved a sigh.

"We tried to shut him in a pyramid," he told Harry. "But Mum spotted us." Ginny giggled again, more softly. _By Mum, you most likely meant yours truly._

Dinner that night was a very enjoyable affair. Tom the innkeeper put three tables together in the parlor, and Ginny's family, Harry, and Hermione ate their way through five delicious courses.

"How're we getting to King's Cross tomorrow, Dad?" asked Fred as they dug into a sumptuous chocolate pudding.

"The Ministry's providing a couple of cars," said Dad.

Everyone looked up at him.

"Why?" asked Percy curiously, voicing Ginny's thoughts aloud.

George took advantage of this statement, "It's because of you, Perce." He continued, "And there'll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them."

"- for Humongous Bighead," said Fred.

Ginny snorted in her pudding. She noticed Harry did as well, and noticed her doing so. She blushed once more. _This confounded crush!_

"Why are the Ministry providing cars, Father?" Percy asked again, in a dignified voice.

"Well, as we haven't got one anymore," said Dad,"- and as I work there, they're doing me a favor -"

Ginny knew that her dad was feeling embarrassed and under pressure, since his ears were turning red. Thankfully, her mum intervened, "Good thing, too." She began to explain, "Do you realize how much luggage you've all got between you? A nice sight you'd be on the Muggle Underground... You are all packed, aren't you?"

"Ron hasn't put all his new things in his trunk yet," said Percy, in a long-suffering voice. "He's dumped them on my bed." Ginny stifled the giggle that was arising by quickly stuffing her spoon of pudding in her mouth. _Oh why do I have to act so stupid in front of Harry?_

"You'd better go and pack properly, Ron, because we won't have much time in the morning," Mum called down the table. Ron scowled at Percy.

* * *

After dinner, everyone went upstairs, feeling extremely tired. Ginny and Hermione were roomed together, between Percy and Ron, and Ginny's parents. After hearing Percy yelling about his badge, Hermione asked Ginny, "Why does he care so much about his Head Boy badge?"

Ginny answered as well as she could, "Well Hermione, you would too. Also, Percy is kind of alone in this family. He's always the last option, except when it comes to me, to talk to or hang out with. Being Head Boy is something he's really proud of. Plus, it gives him the chance to talk to other people who respect him, and want to talk to him for advice. You know, like how I talked to Tom about my troubles."

Hermione asked, "What kind of troubles?"

Ginny sighed, "They seem so stupid now."

Hermione shook her head, "No. Nothing that troubles you that much can be stupid."

Ginny took in a deep breath, "I complained to Tom about how my brothers teased me, I complained about my second-hand robes and books, I complained about how Harry would never like me, and I complained about how I was lonely. Hermione, these worries _were _stupid." Hermione shook her head.

"They aren't Ginny."

Hermione then asked, "Ginny, why do you have a crush on Harry?"

Ginny replied, "Why do you have a crush on Ron?" She smiled when Hermione let out a slight blush.

"I _don't _like Ron." Ginny nodded disbelievingly.

"_Sure _you don't," Ginny said sarcastically. She smiled, "I'll tell you why I like Harry, if you tell me why you like Ron."

"First, answer me honestly. Am I that obvious?" Ginny shook her head.

"Only to those with deep crushes. Am I?" Hermione sighed in relief.

"Sorry Ginny, but you are."

Ginny sighed, "Knew it. Alright, so why do I have a crush on Harry?" Hermione nodded.

"It started when I was little, and was told the story of Harry Potter every night to fall asleep. I thought he was so brave and strong and perfect, and I wanted his courage. Then, I met him at the station, and I didn't notice the scar at first, but I thought he was so…," unable to think of a word, she continued, "My crush got even worse that day. And after he saved me from Tom I couldn't help but notice him for being noble, and saving my life. It makes a bond, you know. But I _really _want to get rid of this crush. It's driving me mad!"

"Oh, Ginny."

"And why do _you _have a crush on Ron?" Hermione blushed.

"Do I-" Ginny already nodded.

"Fine. I think Ron's my crush because he challenges me, but is always there for me." Ginny gave a disbelieving look.

"That's _all?_"

"Would you _like _more details about this- he _is _your brother after all."

"And Harry's like your brother, but you're fine with me speaking about liking him!"

"Fine. Ron..." And so they continued their girl talk throughout the night, until they both noticed the time and fell asleep, ready for Hogwarts on the next day.

* * *

Ginny woke up screaming once more. She looked at the time- nearly two in the morning. She walked over to Percy and Ron's room, and crawled into Percy's bed. She poked his shoulder.

_Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Poke. Po- _"I'm awake! I'm awake. Just stop that infuriating jabbing!"

Ginny smiled at Percy. "Revenge, dear brother." Percy jolted up.

"Ginny? Here I'll move over; that's barely enough room. Do you want to talk?"

"For a minute. Percy, what- how do you think people are going to tr-treat me like in school?"

For the first time in her life, Percy responded with, "I don't know. But I _do _know that if anyone mistreats you, all of us will be there for you. I noticed you were late to the Leaky Cauldron. Did anyone mistreat you on the way there? If so, he or she _will _receive a detention on the first day."

"No- the opposite. Somebody treated me kindly and I don't know if she'll be mean to me, betray me like Tom did."

"Well Ginny, I'm not sure if I'm the best to give advice on that matter. I don't want to give you bad advice, but if I were you, I'd ask Bill. Bill went through something like this, but not as harsh. I won't tell you what, but ask him. You can use Hermes."

"Thanks Percy. For everything." Ginny fell asleep, later to be awakened by Percy.

* * *

"Ginny, it's seven, and I must to get ready. You should go to your room and start getting ready as well. Be ahead of the rest so you can write your letter." Ginny sleepily nodded, and walked to her room. She got changed, cleaned her teeth, and began to write her letter. By the time Hermione was ready, Ginny's letter was complete. The two of them then came down to eat breakfast, talking about their crushes using code words like Norm and Ryan. Ginny's mum then joined in the conversation, talking about how she made and used a love potion to get Arthur's attention.

"Now, what happened was, I made Amorentia for your father, because I was hopelessly in love with him at that time, but he wouldn't see me as anything but the girl he was tutoring in Transfiguration. After a week, it wears off, so imagine his surprise to be kissing me by the lake. Strangest thing happens though, he kisses back and…" Ginny was happy to know her parents' love story. It was her hobby, collecting love stories.

As she ate, Ginny pondered about a love story she learned recently, about her grandmother, Abigail Phelps, and her grandfather, Charles Prewitt. They became a couple soon following a Yule Ball, where they danced, and soon fell under a mistletoe. According to her mum, they both were planning to trick the other underneath a mistletoe, because they each believed the other would have standards above a red-head. What made Ginny laugh, was that her mum said, when her grandparents explained the story to each other, Abigail had claimed that male red-heads looked better then female red-heads, while Charles claimed the opposite. In Ginny's opinion, black-haired boys look the best, especially when it was messy, matched with eyes as green as emeralds, and a hopelessly kind smile.

After everyone ate, it was a race to get to the train on time. Ginny was paired with Percy to get through the barrier. Before they went through, Ginny quickly threw a small dungbomb at George, wanting to get back at him for teasing her about Harry in the Ministry car. Grabbing Percy's right hand, they ran through the barrier. Ginny slipped her letter to Bill in Percy's hand, and then… "Ah, there's Penelope!" said Percy, smoothing his hair and going pink. Most people didn't know this, but Percy was in love with Penny, and often did the silliest things for her. So then, when Percy strode over to a girl with long, curly hair, walking with his chest thrown out so that she couldn't miss his shiny badge, Ginny caught Harry's eye, and they both turned away to hide their laughter.

Harry then muttered something to Ron before he said, "Go away Ginny."

Wow-that hurt. _Imagine if I magically find another diary and this whole scenario happens again._ "Oh, that's nice."

As she began to walk out, she heard a tap on the leg. Ginny stopped for a second, as she heard Ron tap his knee twice, before yawning once, and tapping his knee once more. Ginny smiled, and left. Ron had said, using their secret language from when they were young, _Sorry. I would let you stay, but it's private. Hope for forgiveness._

* * *

Once Ginny was outside of that compartment, she began to look for another. _Maybe I could stay with Percy, or Fred and George. _ Suddenly, she saw somebody wave to her, getting her attention. It was Astoria. Astoria beckoned Ginny to come over, and Ginny nervously did. _They were friendly acquaintances… _Looking around, she noticed that a blond girl who was reading the Quibbler sat across from them.

"So, Ginny, do you want to talk about yourself?"

"Nothing much to talk about really- I have six brothers, I love flying, and I opened the Chamber of Secrets last year. What about you?" _She would be herself. She would look for signs of Tom. If there were any, she'd go away._

"I'm part of a 'pure-blood' family whom practically disowned me when I arrived in Ravenclaw. My sister's horrible, and I love to draw, so if you ever need a portrait of anything, you know who to ask.

The blond girl dreamily added, "I'm Luna Lovegood, and Ginny, you should know that you have a Patife stuck in your hair. They cause horrible nightmares if not treated or gotten rid of quickly."

"How do you do so?"

"Many ways, common way of being treated is comfort through contact, physical or mental. To get rid of them is _really _hard though, so I would suggest a book by a Mr. Scamander. He knows his stuff." _Maybe I would. I could use my books from first year…_

* * *

The three girls began to chat for at least 10 minutes, before the lights went out, and Ginny, afraid of the dark, ran out of the compartment and began to search for her brother.

Soon she was in front of a compartment. After she opened it, she bumped her head _hard _on another person, and squealed in pain.

"Who's that?"

"Who's _that_?" Ginny asked back. Her head still felt sore.

"Ginny?"

"Hermione?"

"What are you doing?"

"I was looking for Ron -" "Come in and sit down -"And so Ginny began to pick a seat.

"Not here!" said Harry hurriedly. "I'm here!" _Oops. That would have been embarrassing._

"Ouch!" said one voice she recognized to be Neville Longbottom, after she stepped on his toe, it seemed.

"Quiet!" said a hoarse voice suddenly.

The stranger then made movements, and none of them spoke the whole time.

There was a soft, crackling noise, and a shivering light filled the compartment. The stranger appeared to be holding a handful of flames. They illuminated his tired, gray face, but his eyes looked alert and wary.

"Stay where you are," he said in the same hoarse voice, and he got slowly to his feet with his handful of fire held out in front of him.

But the door slid slowly open before he could reach it.

Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in the stranger's hand, was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood.

The cloaked figure then began to breathe, and it was sucking everything out of the room. Ginny was beginning to feel cold, very cold. Soon, her eyes were rolling into her head and suddenly, she was in the Chamber of Secrets again. The walls were green and the basilisk in front of her and now Tom Riddle was stalking over to her and he was smiling his sick sweet smile, saying," Hello Ginny. Tha-" Soon the lights were back on, and the train was moving again.

Neville, next to her, looked very pale, and Ginny didn't know if she was going to break down, here, in the middle of 5 different people, one of whom, she didn't know.

Harry then seemed to come to life, but Ginny kept on thinking about Tom and the Chamber and how sick and cruel he was and-

_SNAP! _Ginny jumped at the noise.

"Here," the stranger said to Harry, handing him a piece of chocolate. "Eat it. It'll help."

"What was that thing?" he asked the stranger.

"A Dementor," he said, who was now giving chocolate to everyone else, including Ginny. "One of the Dementors of Azkaban."

Everyone stared at him, and then he left, claiming to head off to find the driver. Ginny stared at her chocolate, before she noticed Hermione say something.

"Are you sure you're okay, Harry?" said Hermione, watching Harry anxiously. Ginny would have too, but Tom's face was still on her mind. She could still see him. She wiped away tears before they were to happen. She wouldn't cry in front of Harry. Never again.

"I don't get it…what happened?" said Harry, wiping more sweat off his face.

"Well— that thing — the Dementor — stood there and looked around (I mean, I think it did, I couldn't see its face) — and you — you —"

"I thought you were having a fit or something," said Ron. "You went sort of rigid and fell out of your seat and started twitching—"

"And Professor Lupin stepped over you, and walked toward the Dementor, and pulled out his wand," said Hermione, "and he said, 'None of us is hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go.' But the Dementor didn't move, so Lupin muttered something, and a silvery thing shot out of his wand at it, and it turned around and sort of glided away…"

Oh, so the man was a Professor named Lupin, and Dementors were searching us for Sirius Black. _  
_

"It was horrible," said Neville, in a higher voice than usual. "Did you feel how cold it got when it came in?"

"I felt weird," said Ron, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably. "Like I'd never be cheerful again…"

_Cheerful. Tom was having a cheerful look on his face. He was enjoying tormenting me, and the other students, he was so, so sick._

Ginny, who was huddled in her corner, gave a small sob, but no tears. Hermione went over and put a comforting arm around her.

"But didn't any of you — fall off your seats?" said Harry awkwardly.

"No," said Ron, looking anxiously at Harry again. "Ginny was shaking like mad, though…"

_Oh thank you Ron, for telling Harry that. _But anyways, it looked like the comment helped Harry slightly. After a few seconds, Professor Lupin came in, looked around, and said, "I haven't poisoned that chocolate you know…"

And so, everyone took a bite of their chocolate. To Ginny's delight, it was soft and warm, and helped her get rid of the cold Tom brought.

* * *

Nobody really spoke for the rest of the ride, and when the Golden Trio left her alone once more, Ginny sighed. Professor Remus Lupin saw this action and frowned. His best friend's son shouldn't have just left this poor girl all alone. Speaking of boys, where was that other black haired boy…? Ah, there he was, with a pair of two other boys. Remus then sighed, before walking over to the red-head. Now, where did he ever think that phrase before? Yes! It was from when Prongs and Lily needed matchmaking. _Potters and their red-heads._

"Hello", Remus said.

"Oh, hi Professor. Here, I'll go now." She walked away, probably in search of her own friends. Remus saw her run over to a blonde and a brunette before talking to them. That's strange, usually Remus's instincts were correct, after all, he was named _Moony, _and he rocked in Divination, even if the subject had only been stupid.

_Ah well, I guess I'll find more about her later,_ he thought, before walking to meet his boss and former teacher Professor McGonagall. Maybe he could officially call her Minnie now, something Padfoot and Prongs would have been overjoyed to do. Remus growled, thinking of Sirius's betrayal. He had thought they were all friends, but apparently not anymore. _Not after he killed James, Lily __**and **__Peter._

* * *

Alright then, it's been _a long _while since I published a chapter, I know. I know it's my fault that I haven't been uploading too. HOWEVER, now that Science Congress is OVER! *happy dance here*, I can update more regularly. I hope to update... Let's say.. AT LEAST once to twice a month. But thanks for not giving up on me!

Dedicated to all my wonderful followers (AKA 13Kali, Comet Moon, LadyTonks1, Terbear1225, Wampire Girl, and bigreddp) and my two fantastic betas (MerlinPsych and Bronze Cat.)

*FUN THING TO GOOGLE: Monkeyfish (Google Images)

-Benture.


	3. New Year, New Studies

Disclaimer: Harry Potter- Not Mine (obviously), mindset to JK Rowling, heart to Ginevra Molly Weasley.

Chapter 3: New Year, New Studies

**G**inny sat with Astoria and Luna on the carriage ride to Hogwarts for the first time. _Much better than the rowboats. _

"So Ginny," Astoria asked Ginny, "What classes might you take next year?"

"Haven't really thought about them. I wouldn't take Divination, but I might take Ancient Runes or Muggle Studies, and Care of Magical Creatures. What classes are you thinking of Luna?", asked Ginny as she turned to Luna.

"There's no doubt that I'm going to Ancient Runes, but I want opinions on the other classes first before I make my decision on the other. Astoria's going to wait until Daphne's done work with her classes to figure out her classes."

Astoria nodded, "Daphne's taking Ancient Runes and Divination. If I hear her gushing about how wonderful the teachers are, I won't go. If she says the work is difficult, then I'll consider it."

Ginny gave Astoria a curious look, "But what about the other classes; wouldn't you want opinions on those?"

Astoria nodded, "I would, but I haven't got any more older siblings."

Ginny smiled, "Since I've got six of them, would you two like to hear opinions on them now?" Astoria and Luna both nodded. "Percy took Arithmancy and Muggle Studies, and said that while Arithmancy was difficult, learning the magical properties of numbers can be helpful. He also said that you should take Muggle Studies, because many wizards are related to muggles, and it's important to understand how they live. Bill took Ancient Runes, and said that it was _really _boring, but knowing how to read runes can help you read many ancient wizarding texts. Charlie took- Oh, look! We're here!"

Before they knew it, they had reached Hogwarts Castle, and stepped out of the carriage, before walking inside to the Great Hall, where the Sorting would take place.

"Aristotle, Alexander"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Bafen, Charles"

"SLYTHERIN!"

And so the Sorting went on.

"Grimm, Jacob, the Eleventh"

"RAVENCLAW"

"Happer, Callum"

"SLYTHERIN"

And on.

"Peters, Ethan"

"GRYFFINDOR"

"Scamander, Rolf"

"HUFFLEPUFF"

And on, till it stopped.

"Winters, Amelia"

"GRYFFINDOR"

And now, it finished. Ginny looked at the new Gryffindors. There seemed to be a lot this year. Then, out of the corner of her eye, Ginny saw McGonagall, Harry, and Hermione walking into the room. Ginny ignored them, just like how Harry ignored her. But maybe she wouldn't ignore it later. Maybe later, they could talk. If he wanted to, of course. She wouldn't force him to.

* * *

Percy sat nearby her, talking to the newly sorted witches and wizards. Remembering what it was like to be new to Hogwarts, and partly because Percy was one of her favorite brothers, she decided to join and talk to them, which helped their nerves a bit. Then, Headmaster, Dumbledore stood up to begin his speech.

Albus Dumbledore was a very, very old man. His beard was several feet long, but he had the power and essence of Merlin, in the eyes of a mischievous loving man. He never seemed to mind when Fred and George played their pranks, if not on _certain _people like Fudge and… that's it really. To Ginny, Dumbledore was the wisest and kindest man she knew, letting her continue her studies at Hogwarts after all the problems she had caused for him. Her thoughts were cut off by him speaking.

"Welcome!" said Dumbledore, the candlelight shimmering on his beard. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become befuddled by our excellent feast…"

Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued, "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

He paused for a moment, before continuing, "They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds," Dumbledore continued, "and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises — or even Invisibility Cloaks," he added blandly, Ginny was confused by this example, but then he continued, "It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to the prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs afoul of the Dementors," he said. Percy, sitting next to Ginny, exaggerated himself by puffing his chest out and looking around the room impressively. Ginny, in her mind of course, giggled at her brother's antics.

Dumbledore paused again; he looked very seriously around the hall, and nobody moved or made a sound.

"On a happier note," he continued, "I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year.

"First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was some scattered, rather unenthusiastic applause. Only those who had been in the compartment on the train with Professor Lupin clapped hard, Ginny among them. Professor Lupin looked particularly shabby next to all the other teachers in their best robes, but Ginny didn't mind. He _was_ the one who had pulled her from the vision of Tom, after all.

"As to our second new appointment," Dumbledore continued as the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin died away. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

Ginny was excited so she clapped particularly loudly, Hagrid really loved animals. Maybe she could tell Hagrid about what she saw with Luna and Astoria on a weekend. And maybe, she could apologize to him too, for hurting his roosters. She stopped clapping along with everyone else, and noticed Hagrid was blushing and modest, hiding a wide grin on his face with his beard.

"Well, I think that's everything of importance," said Dumbledore. "Let the feast begin!"

Food and drink appeared on the table, and Ginny nearly laughed at the sight of the faces on the new Gryffindors. Ginny grabbed a large helping of mashed potatoes and gravy, before diving straight to the plate. Despite being embarrassed for acting like Ron, she couldn't help devouring the Hogwarts House Elves' cooking. Soon, after she ate a nice pumpkin tart, Dumbledore announced that it was time to go to their dorms.

* * *

Since Percy was busy taking all the first years to the Gryffindor Tower and giving them tours of the school, Ginny walked over to McGonagall, to ask her a question. "Professor McGonagall?"

"Yes Ginny?"

"I was wondering if-you know, I could still take classes with my other classmates and not be left behind or failing?"

"Of course Ginny, meet me in my office after your classes and we shall go over what we shall do with tutoring. I'll send some first year books to your room. If you have enough time, colour the material you don't know and I'll go over that with you. I expect you to be more knowledgeable than most second years in Defense because of Lockheart's stupidity after I'm done tutoring you."

"Thank you Professor McGonagall."

"You're welcome Ginny. Go to your dorm now." And with that, Ginny headed to the Gryffindor Tower, seeing Professor McGonagall shoo the Golden Trio out, Ginny increased her pace to the tower, and soon was with the rest of the second years. Soon, a large portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress asked them, "Password?"

"Coming through, coming through!" Percy called from behind the crowd. "The new password's _Fortuna Major_!"

Ginny paused outside of her dormitory door. Wishing for good luck, Ginny walked in hesitantly.

"Hey, Ginny!", a collection of voices greeted. Ginny recognized them as her roommates: Shauna Leemster, Demelza Robins, Alphia Phernis, and Millie Truphin. Shauna was an Irish girl, brown hair from her dad, Irish ancestry from her mum. She was the fluffy talkative one in their room. Demelza was like Ginny, a Holyhead Harpy and Quidditch fanatic, with copperish blonde hair. Alphia was the artistic one in their room, who had blue eyes and blue hair, because she was one-eighth Aecor, a one meter tall oceanic fairy. Finally, there was Millie- the smartest one in their room. She wasn't a mini-Hermione, but she studied _a lot._ Ginny was never _really _good friends with any of them, but they were nice to each other, and now that Ginny noticed it, Ginny and Demelza had a lot of the same classes together last year.

Ginny greeted them back, before heading over to unpack her clothes and books. Remembering her tutoring with Professor McGonagall, Ginny read her Defense and Potions book, coloring various sections on the second half of Potions, and the whole DADA book. Deciding to work on Charms, Herbology, and Transfiguration tomorrow, Ginny fell asleep on her bed.

* * *

Ginny woke up in the middle of the night screaming. Remembering she was in Hogwarts immediately, she shut up and looked over to the faces of her roommates. They were asleep, Ginny let out a relieved sigh. Having a stroke of genius, Ginny checked in her second year Charms book for spells that lowered volume, and low and behold, she found one that _may _help.

_The Susurro Spell can decrease the volume of certain sounds. While as not as effective as the Silencio spell, it allows the caster to do things that ordinarily cause loud noises and create a much more softer tone to it. However, it can__not __stop a sound, but decrease the volume as this is quite a second-year spell. Once the spell caster feels very comfortable creating more advanced spells, they can work on ones such as the Silencio spell. To preform, use the same wand movements as the Wingardium Leviosa spell, and say it as sue-sue-row…_

Ginny practiced the wand movements and spell pronunciation separately before preforming the spell, placing her wand on her bedside and falling asleep again.

Before eating breakfast, Ginny saw Hermione and Professor McGonagall walk over to her. Curious, she looked around; as she guessed they were walking to Ron and Harry. Strangely enough, they were not, as they stopped in front of her.

Professor McGonagall began, "Ginny, you know how I said I would tutor you? I've decided to reteach what needs to be retaught, and ask Hermione here to help you review after."

Hermione added on, "It'll be fun Ginny, imagine it as a nice way to study."

Ginny wondered why Hermione seemed to want to tutor her so much, but shook it off as an offer to McGonagall to help increase her chances of being Prefect as soon as possible.

"I never said I wouldn't you know. Oh, and Professor, I finished marking and coloring my DADA and Potions book. I'll work on Charms, Transfiguration, and Herbology tomorrow. Do I _need to_do my work on my History of Magic?", Ginny spoke.

"We will begin after your classes today, and it seems like you don't need any work on your History of Magic. Professor Dumbledore also wants a chat with you, Ginny, after dinner."

"Yes Professor," and Hermione and McGonagall walked off, her Professor to talk to the Headmaster, Hermione to talk to Ron and Harry. Ginny then noticed Fred, and sat next to him, blushing slightly at Harry, she just focused on breakfast and on her schedule, which did help, a bit.

"Lemme see Ginny," Fred said, taking the paper from her. Rubbing his imaginary beard, he began to say, "Ah, DADA first, Herbology, Potions, Charms. Lunch, then DADA again, before Transfiguration. Hmm.. Good first day GinnyGin."

"Thank you Free-dee."

"Ah, GinnyGin, but I am George."

"And that is as true as Merlin's left buttock having a lightning-bolt shaped scar." Fred burst out into tears of laughter, which was unnoticed as Hagrid walked in. Ginny, then seeing Astoria and Luna, said bye to Fred, before running over to them.

"Astoria! Luna!" she tapped them on their shoulders with her wand.

"Hi, Ginny. Which classes do you have?", Astoria asked, making room for Ginny to sit, which she did.

"Today, DADA, Herbology, Snape," Ginny fake gagged before continuing," Charms, Break, DADA, Transfiguration. You two?"

"We all have most of our classes together! Well, besides Potions, DADA, and Charms." Astoria commented.

"Luna?"

"Same, but I'm with you in Potions," Luna answered in her dreamy voice.

* * *

And so, it was time to begin classes. The three girls walked and chatted together before walking into their Defense Against the Dark Arts Class. Once they had all seated, Professor Lupin began to speak," Good morning class. My name is Professor Lupin, and you may just put down your book for now, we'll just be going over what I plan to teach you and maybe some spellwork. Now, what have you learned so far?" The class was silent in remarks to his question. Due to this, Remus pointed at Ginny and asked her to tell him what she had learned.

Ginny stood, a bit nervous, but she thought about how she _wanted _to answer and replied, "The whole class clearly answered that Professor."

A bemused Remus remembered this girl as the red-head on the train. He had to remember to ask Minerva about her. "So you have learned nothing?"

"What we _did _learn was about the wonderful-ness of Lockheart, but he _did _confund himself, so how wonderfully amazing and talented is he?" Remus honestly didn't understand how Harry could ignore this girl.

"So… This year we must speed up our studies and cover your first two years at Hogwarts. Hmm… I'll see if I can get the okay to create the memini Potion, using my knowledge I guess."

A nearby student asked, "What is a memini potion Professor?"

"It's a potion that allows the drinker to get knowledge of something from the maker. It's like a pensive, but you keep the memory and understand it. It's a simple potion to make, but often, some people accidentally use the wrong memory. My friend, James, once he was confessing to this girl he was in love with for the final time, so he made this massive plan of making the drink full of his good memories, but he accidentally put in the time he was heart-broken of her saying no. Neverless, she still accepted, and boy- did Prongs look happy. We threw a party and everything."

"Well, anyways, first, I guess we'll talk about how to defend yourself from magical creatures. Then, we'll go over basic spells like Expelliarmus, and gradually work up. Looking at the time, Lupin saw that he still had a lot of time left, in fact, only 5 minutes had passed, the last time that time was so slow was when there was a time-turner problem but- nah. "Let's work on Boggarts first."

"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces," said Professor Lupin. "Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks — I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what _is _a Boggart?"

Astoria raised her hand, "A shape-shifter. Once, my father found one in his wardrobe and it turned into… something horrible."

Remus spoke, "Correct, A shape-shifter that turns into what fears us the most. So a Boggart sitting in the darkness has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like when he is alone, but when he is let out, he will immediately become whatever the person right outside the door most fears. But what if there are many people outside the door? Do you know Ginny?"

"It.. won't.. know what to be because there- er, there are too many of us?"

"Precisely," said Professor Lupin. "It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a Boggart. He becomes confused. Which should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a Boggart make that very mistake — tried to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening.

'The charm that repels a Boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a Boggart is _laughter_. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing.

"We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please…_Riddikulus_!"

"_Riddikulus!_" said the class together.

"Good," said Professor Lupin. "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. You must visualize something else, an accessory of sorts, which would make your fear laughable. Elliot, what scares you most in the world?"

Elliot, a Hufflepuff, answered, "My Aunt Umbridge. She's _evil _I tell ya'."

The class laughed before Lupin then thought carefully, "Now, this may seem gross, but this will definitely make you laugh. Elliot, I think if you concentrate hard on Professor Snape leaning down, puckering his lips, if you cast the spell. If all goes right, you will see Snape in lip-lock with your grandmother." Elliot and the rest of the class laughed at the thought of Professor Snape kissing _anybody._

"Now whose fear is next? Hmm... How about Mark? Could you tell us your fear?"

Mark, a muggle-born, answered, "The Basilisk." Immediately, the class turned quiet, and all eyes turned to Ginny, who began to shrink. She felt each look, each glare, everything. Ginny closed her eyes, and saw Tom's body. _No! _She opened her eyes again, seeing the glares. She tilted her head downwards to admire at her desk.

"How could you make them funny, can you guess?" Mark shook his head.

"Perhaps you could visualize it as pink, wearing a blindfold?" Professor Lupin suggested.

"I haven't seen it yet- thank God- I mean Merlin."

"Then imagine it as smaller and in pink." Mark chuckled a little.

And so the class told their fears, and Professor Lupin continued to give funny versions.

Finally, came Ginny's turn. "What are you afraid of Ginny?"

Ginny couldn't think, and answered truthfully, "Tom." Many students were confused. Who could Tom be? A cousin? Why would she be afraid of a person?

"And who's this Tom?" Professor Lupin asked.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle. Lord Voldemort." The class gasped; Ginny ignored them, as she was feeling better, being able to vent everything out, and continued, "The half-blood hypocrite. The liar. The orphan. The murderer. The-"

Professor Lupin interrupted, "We get the idea Ginny. Now, do you have any idea as to how to make Tom seem funny?"

"If Tom was adopted." The class seemed very confused by this.

"Why?", asked Alphia, "I mean, wouldn't it be better if he were dead?"

"No, I don't think anyone would laugh seeing a dead Voldemort in front of their eyes," Ginny began, "And Tom would actually develop a sense of humor if he would actually had a loving parent, especially if at an earlier age. And if he was adopted, he would have positive influences."

"So you would make Tom tell a joke?" Ginny nodded.

The class was still quiet, before Elliot restated, "That's You-Know-Who telling a knock-knock joke!" The class burst into peals of laughter.

Professor Lupin looked at the time, his eyes widened, before he said, "Class is dismissed! Homework, kindly read the chapter on Boggarts and Yetis, which we'll be going over tomorrow. Ginny, stay after please." The class nodded, whispering gossip about Ginny, before leaving.

"Now Ginny, tell me. _Why do you know this?_" Ginny tilted her head. _Shouldn't the teachers know about what happened last year?_

Ginny answered him anyways, "I-I had his diary. I wrote in it, and his diary talked back to me, in simplest terms. Then, it took control over my body, took me to the Chamber of Secrets, _and_ it sucked the life out of me, and low-and-behold, Tom was there, in front of my eyes. Then, Harry killed Tom and the Basilisk." The _Chamber of Secrets? Diary? Talked BACK to the poor girl? Sucked the LIFE out of her? _"May I go now?"

"No, Ginny, listen. I want you to know if you need any help, with anything. Just ask your trusty pal Remus."

"Nothing? Look, I'll take you to your next class. What is it?"

"Herbology with Sprout."

"Alright then, let's go."

Soon, it was the end of the day, classes had ended, tutoring was successful (the books did help, and with Hermione's memories in Dumbledore's pensive, she was able to complete the first half of the first year of transfiguration.)

* * *

After a few weeks, Ginny caught up with the rest of her classes, as Hermione's memories, while _long _were very helpful. Now, Ginny knew how to do many spells, and found that while she was terrible in Potions and Herbology, she was alright in Charms, and _amazing _in Defense and Transfiguration. Speaking of which, it looked like Professor Lupin's memini Potion was almost complete, but he kept on making weird glances at Ginny. Ginny was afraid that he learned about the Chamber in more context.

On October 1st, Ginny was making her way to the Great Hall for dinner, and a group of girls were walking in the hallways when they spotted Ginny. When they saw that she had Weasley hair _and _was a girl, they knew she was the girl who opened the Chamber of Secrets. (Gossip travels fast in Hogwarts.) These girls were in their Slytherins in their seventh year, and were considered on 'the top of the food chain.'

A blonde girl said to Ginny, "Blood-traitor! What are _you _still in school for? Going to open another chamber?" Ginny ignored her.

"Yeah, we should all stay away. After all, the Heir of Slytherin should be You-Know-Who's second in command." Ginny flinched, but continued walking. That was, until a girl pushed her to the floor.

"We should report her to the Ministry, they'll take her away!" Ginny looked away from her.

"After all, nobody likes her. I bet you that those two girls that always hang out with her were bribed by Dumbledore so she would stay calm and not hurt anyone." That comment hurt. Maybe that _was _why Astoria and Luna hung out with her- not because they liked her, it was for everyone else. They just wanted to use her. But they weren't evil, they were just trying to protect everyone else. Ginny didn't deserve any friends…

"Hey, Instead of the Ministry, how about she gets sent to St. Mungos! She deserves to be there, in some secure ward. No wonder her family ignores her. They must _hate _how she _petrified _her brother's, you know- Harry Potter's best friend's, other best friend!" Ron didn't talk to her that often. He probably did hate and ignore her on purpose, even though he said he wouldn't.

* * *

Ginny's tears began to fall, as she stood up and ran. She ran far away from them, far away from Hogwarts. Ginny just kept on running, and didn't even notice where she was going, until she tripped and fell. Ginny tumbled for what seemed to be like eternity. The pain just wouldn't go. When Ginny opened her eyes, she saw she was somewhere in the Forbidden Forest. And when she sat and looked up, she saw that it was nightfall. A shiver ran through Ginny, weren't the Dementors in the forest too? Would she make it out of here? Maybe she would die, and remove her family's ruined reputation. _I wonder if anyone would come to my funeral. Would I even have a funeral? Would they care enough to have one? _Then, rustling occurred to Ginny's right. Holding her wand by her side, Ginny tried to remember any spells. Umm… savemeo? Helpmius? Expelliarmus! _And one more…_Get away? Fly away? Stupefy!

_Okay, I'm ready. _Ginny closed her eyes, basking herself to see a horrendous creature, maybe there was another basilisk in the school? When the rustling stopped, Ginny opened her eyes to see… A dog? It was only a black furry dog! _Yes! I still have time to live! _Ginny spoke, "Hey there."

The dog barked in response, turning away before he noticed the tears in her eyes. Seeing that she was a good-looking girl, he walked over to her lap before licking her face. He sat on Ginny's lap panting, giving Ginny warmth, and barked, as if asking, _what's wrong?_

Ginny answered the dog, "A group of girls made fun of me. I opened the Chamber of Secrets last year, under Tom's control, so they said I shouldn't be in Hogwarts, and my friends were only my friends because of Dumbledore, that I should go to St. Mungo's, and that my family hates me. I should have guessed, you know. I'm not worth having friends. My brother hates me for good reason. I petrified one of his friends, which are and should be considered higher than me. They didn't open the Chamber of Secrets, so they're a better family. They are above me." Ginny began to cry, and the dog nuzzled her cheek, before he continued to pant.

"His friends are Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. The basilisk nearly petrified her last year, and I'm a blushing idiot in front of Harry. I can understand why he wouldn't want to even breathe the same air as me." The dog immediately stopped panting at the name Harry Potter. He was intrigued, like Tom was. Terrified, Ginny quickly asked, "You're not planning to use me again, are you? You're not Tom, right? Please say you're not!"

The dog began to drool. Right on Ginny's shoulder. Tom was too mannered to do that, and this dog acted too, well, dog-like, to be Tom. Ginny sighed relieved, and looked up again. It was still night, but it seemed darker than before.

The dog followed her eyes to see the night sky, and looked for the _Sirius _constellation. Ginny realized she kept on calling the dog, the dog.

"What should I call you?", she asked, scratching behind his ear. "Stinky? Ravenfur?" Ginny looked to the side, seeing pawprints, "Padfoot?"

The dog barked at this name. Ginny smiled. "Okay then Padfoot, I'm Ginny. Ginny Weasley. Do you know the way back to the castle?" Padfoot crawled off of her, and began walking in a certain direction. Ginny ran up to follow him. And so, he began to walk her out of the Forbidden Forest, to the direction of Hogwarts. Then, a minute or two after they began their walk, he stopped, and peed on a nearby tree. Ginny giggled, "_Padfoot!_", as she pinched her nose. Once he finished, he continued to walk, and she followed, laughing all the way back to Hogwarts. He stopped about twenty meters away from where Hogwarts was, and licked Ginny's face, before walking back into the Forbidden Forest. "See you later Padfoot!" she called back.

When she reached the castle gates, she met a wide-eyed Professor McGonagall. "Miss Weasley! What in goodness sakes happened to you? Never mind, we should get the the infirmary. Look at your clothes and your back! Oh Merlin, so much dirt and blood!" Professor McGonagall walked Ginny to the infirmary, ready to use levitation if necessary. Ginny looked over her shoulder to see where Padfoot had left and smiled, wondering if she would see him again.


	4. Friends Forever

Disclaimer: Not mine, I wish, But JK Rowling _refuses _to give me Harry Potter, or Ginny Weasley for that matter!

**Chapter 4: Friends Forever**

** G**inny was walked by Professor McGonagall to the Hospital Wing to get her back checked. When it was, Ginny found out that should only stay overnight for precautions, and since she didn't eat dinner, she was given a meal, along with a detention for going out into the Forbidden Forest, _alone. _Ginny protested, "But a dog was with me!" Professor McGonagall was taken aback; there were many dark creatures in the Forbidden Forest that look similar to canines, but have infected bites._  
_

"Did it bite you?"

"No," Ginny simply stated.

"Scratch you?" Ginny shook her head. Professor McGonagall sighed in relief.

"You should be fine then. But if that ever happens to you, which it shouldn't, come to Madam Pomfrey _immediately._" Ginny nodded. Then, she asked, "Why did you leave, Miss Weasley?"

"Oh- Er... Um- I-", Ginny began to stutter, she didn't want to tell off the girls because they probably were right about her friends and Ron and all.

"Er... I-I. I wanted to have some alone time," Ginny half-lied. Professor McGonagall seemed to believe this, as the secret to lying _was _half lies. Then, her Transfiguration professor left through the door, allowing Ginny to relax into a well-needed sleep.

* * *

In the meantime, Professor McGonagall walked into the teacher lounge of Hogwarts, School of Magic, half frustrated, half worried for a certain Ginevra Molly Weasley. She slammed the door, alerting the staff who lingered there, waiting for Minerva to come so they could start their staff meeting.

"What's the problem, Minerva?", asked Albus Dumbledore. The last time he saw Minerva so troubled, it was when Ginny Weasley was taken to the Chamber of Secrets. Before that, it was when Fred and George charmed their class so that every time she spoke, she would burst out into giggles before the next word was spoken.

"Ginny Weasley- that's who!" Remus Lupin was shocked by this statement, Ginny seemed so pleasant. Looking around, he saw none of the other teachers were as befuddled as he, before he remembered the Chamber of Secrets. But that was over, right? Stress?

Dumbledore interrupted his thoughts, "Minerva, calm down. I do believe the rest of the staff would appreciate it if you explained why you came into this room, in a quite ferocious manner, if I do say so myself."

"Albus, the girl had disappeared from the castle for at _least _3 hours, missing dinner and curfew, and came back from the Forbidden Forest with a bleeding back. And then, she tries to _lie _to me, and says she wants 'alone time.' Albus, that may be true, but there's more to the story than that," Minerva ranted, and slowly began to cease her argument. Several teachers were alarmed to this, and began to discuss methods of assisting Miss Weasley. After an argument about privacy and the needs of students, they all agreed to, simply put, pay more attention to her in classes. Even Severus Snape participated.

Remus Lupin, to be honest, expected the conversations at Hogwarts to be more about Harry. Unknowingly, he had spoken that aloud, or either Albus or Snape knew Legilimency, because Snape said, "Potter? He's a unworthy student that tries to attract as much attention as possible. You're a fanboy, must be due to his idiot father, so you'll give him better scores than he deserves."

Remus stood angrily, prepared to hit Snivellius for insulting his best mate, before Albus raised his hand, "Severus, do not speak of such great people in that manner. Remus, our conversations are usually about Mister Potter, but Hogwarts is about _all _students, including ones that are traumatized." Snape seemed happy about this argument, despite being told off, and sat happily in his seat. Remus also seemed somewhat pleased by this as well, and sat back into his seat, not noticing the other teachers staring at him.

"A-hem", coughed Minerva. "So we all agree to assist her, but not seem _too _eager to help."

"Agreed," chorused the staff, and the meeting continued as per usual.

* * *

The next morning, Madam Pomfrey discharged Ginny from the Hospital Wing. Ginny hurried as fast as she could for her first class, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and slipped in quietly, taking her seat next to Astoria and Luna.

Professor Lupin then began his class by passing out potions to her classmates. Nearby, a student she knew to be Patricia, a Slytherin, asked "Is this the finished memini potion? Why don't we take the potion in _all _classes and just learn _everything _in one class?"

Professor Lupin answered, "While it is a good potion, if you use it too often it can have bad effects, such as many headaches, and brain damage. Plus, high dosages can cause an identity crisis; you learn _too _much about the maker's thought process, fears, and the like. Don't worry, one potion won't harm you."

Patricia seemed grateful by this answer, and took a gulp of the potion. She then scrunched up her nose, and it looked like this potion would _not _be treacle-tart flavored. Ginny then looked at her memini potion, and held onto her nose, before swallowing the Potion whole. Next to her, Luna and Astoria exchanged glances. They were informed about what some girls yelled at Ginny, and hoped that she wouldn't believe their lies. Ginny was truly an amazing person.

"Hello Ginny," Luna stated, but not in her usual dreamy voice. Ginny wondered if they would discontinue their friendship. It would make sense. She could understand why.

"Hi Luna. I understand if you don't to be friends anymore," _Were they even friends in the first place?_ "I won't hurt anyone, honestly. I swear- it was only because of Tom. If you don't wan't to be friends- I seriou-", Ginny was cut off by Astoria and Luna hugging her.

"Ginny, we know what those girls told you," Astoria began.

"Those are lies. They must have Pindershi infesting them- those cause immense negative actions," Luna said.

"Know that we are your friends. Not because of a bribe. Not for somebody else. We are your friends because we _care _for you, and because you are _amazing._"

"Just like Simiafish," Luna finished. They broke off the hug, and blushed as half the class stared at them. Professor Lupin then walked over to the three girls.

"Since you payed so much attention Miss Lovegood, would you please answer the question?" The class immediately paid attention to the teacher and class.

"The Pifgils sh-", Professor Lupin sighed, and asked Astoria a different question.

"Astoria, would you please tell me two of the most important spells one should know in first year?"

"Alohamora and Lumos," answered Astoria, as she searched through her memories from the memini potion. It was like there was a cauldron, and inside that cauldron were the memories she needed.

"And what do they do?", asked Professor Lupin.

"They unlock all doors and give light."

"Brilliant. Now class, I have been told that some of you have been judging others. If I hear about _any _of you _ever _bullying another person, I _will _assign you of detention including spending a _full _24 hours _with_ Professor Snape during the weekend."

The class all echoed, "Yes Professor Lupin," and gave furious glares to Ginny.

"Now, moving on…"

* * *

At lunch, Ginny had no place to sit except next to Harry, since too many of the Hufflepuffs walked over to the Ravenclaw Table to talk with some of their classmates, and Fred and George were crowded by people in awe of them, same with Percy. Ron and Hermione were sitting across from Harry, and for once, he had an empty seat next to him. Ginny blushed furiously before calming herself down a bit, and sat next to him, placing rice on her plate.

"And the effect of the Petrifying Spell is to-", Hermione was speaking, before getting cut off by Ron.

"Hey Harry, the Cannons won yesterday! I know they'll get to the finals this year!" Hermione huffed muttering a scolding at Ron, while going back to her food.

"Yeah. Speaking of Quidditch, do you know how to do the Heins Trick? Oliver was telling me to try it," Harry spoke. At hearing his voice, Ginny blushed again, before drinking some water and calming her blush down.

"I've heard of it somewhere. I'll give you my Quidditch book, it could help you," answered Ron. At this, Hermione choked, not believing that Ron could let alone _read, _but _own a **book**? _Of course, Ginny began to giggle, and then she chuckled, before realizing that Ron would be angry that she was listening into their conversation. She quickly quieted herself. Of course, she knew that it wasn't his book, but hers that Charlie gave her. She wouldn't even tell Harry that the Heins Trick was just shooting fast toward a random area, before slowing down at a random place, and repeating so. It's an amazing trick for Seekers, but it wasn't even _in _the book.

However, Hermione being as perceptive as she is, saw Ginny giggling, and asked her, "Does he _really _own that book?", she hoped Ginny would say 'no.'

"Obviously not," Ginny answered. She noticed Harry's attention on her and blushed. Ron was looking at Ginny curiously.

"So Ginny, how are classes?", Ron asked.

"Fine," she replied. She hoped Ron knew about what happened to her yesterday, and that he cared about what happened.

"I didn't notice you at dinner yesterday- where were you?" Ginny noticed Harry's full attention on her now, and turned crimson.

"The Forbidden Forest," she answered plainly. She didn't notice Ron's look of utter shock as she sipped a cup of pumpkin juice.

"Why? Why were you there?" Ron asked. Ginny hid her tears with her cup; he didn't know. _He didn't know. _Was she not worth knowing about? Her whole class knew about what happened- why not Ron? Hermione gave Ron a look, as she whispered to him, probably about what happened. _Even Hermione knew. _Ron gave a look of worry and dismay.

"Ginny, you know I don't _hate _you, right?" Ginny felt tears well up in her eyes, but she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Harry.

Hermione continued, "And I don't want you to feel guilty over what happened last year. Why were you in the infirmary in the morning?"

Ginny's eyes widened, and so did Ron's and Harry's. "What?"

Harry, who had quiet until now, asked, "You were in the infirmary?" Ginny nodded.

"I hurt my back," she replied.

"How bad?" Ron asked.

"It was bleeding." Harry's eyes widened even further. "But Madam Pomfrey fixed it up without any fuss."

"How?" Ginny blushed, and looked down to her plate.

"I-I tumbled for awhile," she said.

"_Ginny! _That's _dangerous! _Imagine if you had encountered a troll!", Hermione chastised. "Did you encounter any creatures?", she realized that she had to ask.

Ginny wanted to keep Padfoot a secret. She didn't want to disturb or worry the three of them. Plus, Padfoot wasn't a _creature. _He was a _friend. _"No." Harry and Ron seemed to accept this, but Hermione narrowed her eyes at Ginny. She wasn't telling her the complete truth. But Hermione would ask Ginny later, in her room, maybe.

"So... Ginny, what was the Heins trick?" Harry asked. Ginny didn't blush this time, or at least not to Harry's knowledge, since she was drinking her Pumpkin Juice.

She swallowed, and answered, "It's a Seeker trick. You shoot fast in a random direction, before slowing down at a random place, and continue until you see the snitch. It helps best when you're having trouble finding the snitch, and you want to confuse the other seeker." Harry nodded, acknowledging her. She blushed a deep red.

* * *

When Lunch was over, Ginny walked to her Transfiguration class with Luna and Astoria, talking about a book she remembered her brother Percy giving her on becoming an Animagus. They all seemed excited, and since the weekend was tomorrow, they would read it together in the Transfiguration classroom, which was empty on the weekends.

In Charms, Ginny was paired with Patricia, the Slytherin girl. Ginny then realized that Patricia had no friends in class. All she did was her work, and tease her Professor. She decided she wouldn't let anyone feel like she did during her first year. She wouldn't ignore Patricia. "Hey Patricia. Do you want to join us tomorrow at the Transfiguration classroom? I'll wait for you outside the classroom at 8:00."

Patricia was inwardly elated, but just outwardly smirked and said, "Oh, I guess I should. You need to have at least _one _snakey friend."

At the end of the day, Ginny told Astoria and Luna about her plans to include Patricia.

"She seems to be nice- there is no Spinnen surrounding her," commented Luna. She added, "They're spider-like creatures that area attracted to evil people."

Astoria looked unsure, "I-I don't know. I mean, yeah, my families full of Slytherins, but they're not the best. With the exception of my father, my family practically disowned me."

Ginny was shocked by this, "Really? But, Patricia looks nice, and she's all alone. I _know _how that feels. I don't want anyone to feel that."

Astoria nodded, "I'll give her a try."

Luna added, "So when are we meeting Patricia?"

"I told her outside the Fat Lady's portrait." Then, they arrived at the hall where the had to separate, and hugged goodbye.

"See you tomorrow!" they shouted.

* * *

After dinner, Ginny snuck out to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, to Hagrid's house, and knocked on his door. "Hagrid?", she called.

The door opened, and Hagrid's eyes opened at the site of Ginny, and ushered her inside. "What are _you_ doin' up so late?", he asked.

"Can I take Seraphina with me somewhere?" Hagrid gave her a curious look.

"Now what would you be doin' with a tiny dragon this late at night?" Ginny decided for a half-truth. Hagrid might not let her go out to the Forbidden Forest to meet up with a _dog_.

"To show friends. I want to introduce them."_  
_

"This late?" Ginny shook her head.

"I might oversleep tomorrow, so I want to make sure I have her in time. We're all going to meet up and hang out." Hagrid smiled.

"Good for you. Lemme go get 'er." He walked to a corner of the room, and picked up Seraphina. She gave out a little growl, which sounded like a mewl. Ginny giggled. Hagrid handed Ginny her dragon, and Ginny walked into the Forbidden Forest.

"Padfoot!" She called out. "Padfoot! Where are you?" Padfoot walked out from between a couple trees to Ginny. "There you are! Meet Seraphina! Beauty, isn't she? She's a toy dragon- part Antipodean Opaleye." Ginny sat down to pat Padfoot's head, and put Seraphina in her lap.

Padfoot looked didn't bark or anything. He was quiet, and looked at her. "Don't worry. She doesn't bite. She's a _toy _dragon." Padfoot brushed his head against Seraphina. She gave out another mewl. This seemed to encourage Padfoot, who then barked, and rolled around. Ginny laughed, and Seraphina let out a little cackling sound, which Ginny guessed to be a laugh.

Padfoot then licked Ginny's cheek, and began to walk her to Hogwarts again. This time, Professor McGonagall wasn't there, and she snuck back into Hogwarts, and nearly ran into Filch! But she wasn't caught, and managed to creep into the Gryffindor common room, where Hermione sat on a chair, glaring at her.

"Now where do you think _you're _going?" Ginny froze. She hid Seraphina behind her back, and hoped Hermione didn't see her.

"I _knew_ you were lying earlier- about seeing no creatures, so I thought, 'Why not wait in Ginny's room after dinner?' Obviously, when the clock struck _ten-thirty_, I knew _something_ was up. I was worried that you were _dead_! Or even worse- _expelled_! But I decided to _wait_. 'Who knew if Ginny got lost or something?' It is now _eleven thirty-two, _so you _better _have a good explanation of where you were!", Hermione whisper-yelled. Ginny cringed. _  
_

She couldn't lie to Hermione now. "In the Forbidden Forest." Hermione raised her eyebrow, so Ginny continued, "Showing Padfoot Seraphina."

"And who are those two characters?" Hermione asked.

"Padfoot's my friend. A dog- harmless," Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Honest. I swear. He comforted me right after the whole 'they're your friends for the better good' thing. And Seraphina's my toy dragon."

Hermione nodded, "And you would show a dog a toy dragon because?"

Ginny shook her head, "She's not stuffed. Cross-breed of a lizard and a Antipodean Opaleye. Harmless as well."

Hermione narrowed her eyebrows. "And what is it that you're hiding?" Ginny sighed, and pulled out Seraphina from behind her back.

Hermione's eyes were wide open, "Oh Merlin. Gi-Ginny. Tha-That's a _dragon_. What are you _doing _with it?"

"Her," Ginny corrected, "And she's mine. Literally. Charlie gave her to me as a birthday present. Cute, isn't she?"

Hermione nodded, eyes still wide open, "You can go now Ginny. G'night."

Ginny smiled, "G'night Hermione." She began to walk to her room, but paused. "Are you coming?" Hermione got up and walked up the stairs with Ginny. She was in shock, and stayed up pondering how to deal with the dragon. _It should really stay with Hagrid. _

Meanwhile, Ginny cast a Susurro spell, and fell asleep with Seraphina in her arms. She was adorable. _And helped deal with nightmares._

* * *

Chapter 4 is up! Thanks for all who followed this! I'm really grateful to not just one, but _all _of you.


	5. Dragons and Animagi

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Astoria Greengrass, or the term Animagus.

**Chapter 5: Dragons and Animagi**

**G**inny tapped her foot impatiently in front of the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, where she stood, waiting for Luna, Astoria, and Patricia. She held a large box in her hands, that had few holes stemming across the sides. The box wasn't too heavy, but wasn't too light either. She was afraid of casting spells onto whatever was inside. _Imagine if I hurt Seraphina! _She couldn't wait to show her new friends Seraphina!

Just then, a girl with a pursed face tapped her on the shoulder. She was Melissa, a Gryffindor prefect. Melissa glared at Ginny's attire: tattered second-hand robes, and a crooked tie, obviously done in a rush. Her glare turned to Ginny's box, before looking at Ginny's eyes. Melissa was one of the Gryffindors who hated Ginny. She, and many others, thought she was a disgrace to Gryffindor, and was a mistake. Melissa and her friends liked to bully Ginny. They insulted her robes, her hair, her personality- but only Ginny. Even though Fred and George had second-hand robes, and the same hair color, Melissa tried to "flirt" with them. Of course, she did it horribly, insulting Ginny whenever she could, and then making it up my touching their arms. Following her most recent attempt, George gagged, Fred told Melissa that they had put centaur vomit all over their arms, legs, and hands, and they both reached to hug her. Melissa ran away, furious. Since that attempt, which was three days ago, Melissa had been particularly cruel to Ginny.

"Weasley..." Melissa began, "What's in the box?"

"What box?" Ginny played dumb.

"You _know _what box," Melissa glared, pointing at her box with her pointer finger, looking as if she was looking at horse dung "That one."

"Oh, you mean this box?" Ginny it up. "There's obviously some air in there."

"You _idiot!" _Melissa began to yell,"_Don't act smart with me! _Everybody _knows _you're _not! _No _smart _person would be _friends _with _You-know-who! _You're _an idiot _Weasley! A _complete and utter idiot! **A hundred points from Gryffindor!**" _The other side of the door was quiet. Ginny didn't know if it was that way before Melissa yelled or not. All she knew was to _run. _

Ginny ran from there, her hands balled up into fists. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Ginny seemed to be running away often. This was the second time in a week. Ginny felt weak, and pathetic. She wanted to get away from the people who hated her. She wanted people who _loved _her. Immediately, her mind turned to Harry. _Stupid crush! Even **now?!**_ Her mind then turned to her family, Hermione, and Luna, Astoria- even Patricia! She could almost imagine Luna, Astoria, and Patricia yelling, _"Ginny!" _as they ran towards her. Her feet stopped. Ginny actually heard that. She turned around.

Astoria was panting, being the slowest of all of them. Patricia being in the middle, while Luna ran the fastest, but not by too much. "Ginny!" Astoria yelled. "Wait! _Please! _We had a good reason to be late! _Honest! _We-_" _Astoria had tripped and fell down. Ginny ran to her.

"Astoria! Are you okay?" Ginny lent her a hand, wrapping her left arm around the box.

"May," she panted, "be... Tired...", Astoria grabbed onto her hand like it was her dear life.

"Where did you learn to run so fast?" Patricia asked, panting as well.

"Must be the Lofingers," Luna began, looking perfectly unaffected by the fast run,"They feed on negative emotions and turn them into physical energy."

Ginny nodded, taking her own deep breath. She then asked, "So... Why didn't you come?"

"We did come," Ginny looked like she would object, "but we were set back. The Elizabeth Purnip had stopped us," Astoria finished explaining. Elizabeth was one of Melissa's friends. She thought that Gryffindors were above all houses.

"Yeah. The banshee is terrible," continued Patricia, "Kind of a Gryffindor-Snape, took of 10 points from Slytherin for trying to 'raid' the Gryffindors. As if, all Slytherins are wealthy these days. No offense." All purebloods, and therefore all Slytherins, were aware of the Weasleys poverty issues.

Luna then added, "So that's when we came in. I explained that she had Pifflers in her head, and she seemed to run away to get rid of them, or us."

Ginny smiled at her friends. "I forgive you," her friends had shocked faces, so she turned red, "I- I mean if you were apologizing-which you weren't." Ginny looked down, "Sorry for misunderstanding," she muttered.

Ginny felt someone hold her by the sides of her face, and pull her up to face them. "Ginny," Luna began, "We _were _apologizing."

"Yeah!" Patricia agreed, "We were surprised that you were forgiving us so easily. You're an amazing person Ginny." Ginny smiled, her cheeks turning red.

_"How cute," _a male voice had drawled. The three turned to face the speaker. It was Draco Malfoy, with his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle "The gullible misfit," he began looking pointedly at Ginny, "The loony idiot," he turned to Luna, "The blood traitor," he sneered at Astoria, "The-Well look here Goyle, it's _Thynrel! _What are you doing with _them?" _he spat.

"I'm," Patricia began, not knowing what to say. If she said the wrong thing, she could become outcasted from Slytherin. Apparently, Ginny, Luna and Astoria thought so as well.

Astoria seemed to gain energy just from looking at him. She stood up, Ginny and Luna at her sides, and glared. Draco Malfoy was the bane of her existence. He visited her house once a week during the summer, cursing at muggles with his father. She glared, "_She's _taking us to speak with _Professor McGonagall. _Who-by the way-can arrange your detention if you get us late. Now, if you excuse me," she pushed past him, or at least tried to. None of them would move.

"She'll also give _you _detentions for being late," he raised his wand, "Sen-" Draco was cut off.

Ginny pointed her wand at him, "Expelliarmus!"The wand flew into her hand. She then cast, "Susurro!" She grasped her friends's hands and ran away from Draco, making random turns.

* * *

Finally, they were in front of the first year's Charms classroom. Patricia opened the door and peeked inside- no one was there... She beckoned everyone over. They all stepped inside the empty classroom, closing the door quietly. When the door was closed, they comically fell to the floor, crawled to an large empty space, and laid down, their heads forming a diamond.

"That was _awesome _Ginny!" Astoria gushed. Ginny blushed.

"It was nothing. You would've done the same for me." She said, feeling proud that she could be there for her friends.

"So, what's in the box?" Patricia asked.

"What box?" Ginny had forgotten that she was holding it. She sat up and held it up so that Patricia could see. "This one?" Patricia nodded.

"Sit up and I'll show you," Ginny thought it would be easier if everyone sat up when Seraphina would be introduced.

"Is it going to be an magical creature?" Luna asked. She hoped it would be a Pollyanfer- they were commonly found in magical woods. She and the rest of the girls bounced up.

"Yes, Luna. Her name is Seraphina." Luna frowned. Not a Pollyanfer then, since all Pollyanfers are male.

Ginny slowly opened the lid, everyone's eyes on the box. They were amazed to see a head stick out. It was a dragon! It's big eyes glittered many colors, but lacked pupils. Her scales were a pearly white, glittering in the sunlight shining through the windows.

Luna gasped, "Antipodean Opaleye?" Ginny nodded, smiling proudly.

"We can't have dragons as pets though," Patricia remarked.

"She's a toy dragon," Luna said. Her eyes were twinkling.

"Luna?" Astoria called for her friend's attention. Luna turned to Astoria.

"It's just- well my mother- she created the potion which allowed the breeding of the dragons to be successful," Luna was so happy.

"Where's your mother now Luna?" Patricia asked.

"She's dead. That's how I can see thestrals," Luna answered. She didn't seem that affected, but the girls all pulled her for a group hug.

"I can't imagine what it's like to lose a mother Luna, but we'll always be there for you," Ginny whispered in her ear. Luna smiled and hugged all her friends back.

Patricia began to change the subject, "So thestrals aren't bad luck?"

"They aren't, but since only people who have seen death can see them, they think it's bad luck," Luna explained.

"Oh." Seraphina mewled, and the girls all laughed, cooing over the dragon.

"How come you can take it with you?" Astoria questioned.

"I keep Seraphina with Hagrid most of the time, so they let me keep him on grounds. I do have one more surprise for you though..." Ginny let out, seeing the look of pure glee on their faces.

"What is it?" They asked. Ginny smiled. She pulled out _How To: Animagus Edition _from a compartment in the box. Their eyes all widened.

"How do you feel about becoming an animagus?"

"Bloody hell yes!" Luna yelled. Everyone's eyes widened ever further.

"Huh?" Astoria dumbly stated. Ginny and Patricia kept opening and closing their mouths, unable to speak.

"Oh, the Fuenred seem to have temporarily taken over me. They can sometimes exaggerate emotions and cause strange actions, you know." Their faces were still blank.

"Should I read? Or will one of you?" Luna asked, providing a distraction. Astoria raised her hand.

"Can I be pinched? I think I'm dreami-OW! Luna..." Astoria rubbed her arm. Luna repeated this motion to Ginny and Patricia, and it worked.

"Thank you Astoria. Perhaps that can help with telling if I'm really under the control of Guddings." Luna handed the book to Patricia.

Patricia took the book, and passed it to Ginny. "It's your book. I'll read it next time." Ginny smiled. She gave her friend a quick hug, and began to read.

_How to: Animagus Edition_

**_Chapter 1: Knowing your animagus state._**

_Before you can become part of the elite animagi community, one must learn and understand what animal they would become. This depends on (A) Your Bloodline, as a person originating from Helga Hufflepuff may differ from, let us say, the Flamel Bloodline. (B) Your environment, as a wizard born in a muggle community might have less of a chance to have a magical animagi than a pure or half blood, which has most likely seen these before creatures. In addition, wizards who live near a coast have more of a chance of a fish-like animagus. (C) Your personality, just like how Gryffindors are brave, canine animagus are commonly fiercely loyal. (D) Your spell casting potential, for a stronger wizard will most likely contain a magical animagus._

_Many wizards assume that their animagus is based off of their patronus. This is **incorrect**. Firstly, a wizard's patronus could be an otter one year, and a dolphin the next. A wizard's animagus state **cannot** change. In addition, a wizard's patronus shows the animal that keeps them safe. While it is highly unlikely that you will be a snake if you fear them, you will not be a dolphin just because you feel safe with them._

_In order to determine your animagus state, you have two options- using a potion or a spell. If you would like to use a potion, please skip to page 10. To see more information on the spell, continue below. _

_The spell, known as the Creatimagus by most, requires the spell caster to use the spell movement of the picture below._

Ginny held up the book, and passed it around. It showed a male wizard whom made two counterclockwise motions with his wand, continued by a cross through the middle. He pointed his wand at his stomach, rather large one at that. All of the girls tried to mimic the picture, Patricia doing the best job. Once they decided that they got the movement right, they continued to read aloud.

_The incantation of the spell is bestia statorum. To pronounce, say: Best-ee-ah Stah-toe-rum._

They practiced pronouncing the spell, and once they felt comfortable, they continued.

_Once you have properly cast this spell, go to sleep. When you awake, you will have a dream about your animal state, **and **your animal will appear to jump out of your stomach…_

This intimidated them, and for good reason too.

"What about our roommates? Nice or not- they won't let this go." Astoria said. Her roommates, minus Luna, were all jerks. They would threaten to either tell on them, or force them to join, which definitely would make everyone feel uncomfortable. Astoria supposed Ginny's roommates were nice, so she added the "nice" part.

"Yeah, you're right," Ginny said, disappointed. She was _really _excited for this!

"Wait!" Patricia exclaimed. She had just made _friends _and was _not _going to lose them! "What about the Potion?"

"Page ten, right?" Ginny flipped to the page. "Awesome idea Patricia!" Patricia blushed, and was handed the book. Everyone smiled at her. She smiled from ear-to-ear.

_"**The Creatimagus Potion**_

_Properly brewed, the Creatimagus Potion allows the drinker to dream about their animagus state on the night of the full moon, inside a ghost's living quarters. When the sun rises, the drinker's animal will only be visible to those who drank from the same brew, unlike the spell counterpart." _Patricia looked up, disappointed.

"I guess we won't be able to be animagi after all," Ginny sighed.

"No. Wait! I have an idea," Astoria smiled, "What about Moaning Myrtle?" _Moaning Myrtle- of course! _

"Nobody goes there," Patricia commented, turning to Luna.

"There aren't any Yuunefs nearby, so we should be safe," Luna added, looking at Astoria.

"It'll be an awesome sleepover," Astoria noted, raising her eyebrows at Ginny.

"We should check to see how Myrtle feels," Ginny thought aloud, "And if she doesn't mind, it'll be perfect."

"Well, only if we can manage the ingredients and directions." Astoria then asked, "Patricia what are they?"

Patricia read the ingredients aloud. They were easy to obtain, with the exception of a Polyhither leaves, which would be difficult to obtain. For everything else, luckily, the girls just had to use a normal potion making kit, which luckily, Astoria had many extra copies of.

The directions were slightly difficult, some instructions causing Patricia's and Ginny's eyes to bulge out of their heads. They weren't the best at the subject. Astoria had then told them she could do those.

"Why? Astoria, some of these directions look like third-year stuff," Ginny put her hand reassuringly on her shoulder. "We should work through them together. I mean, I'm not very good help at Potions, but-" Astoria cut her off.

"No-Ginny, the reason why I'm volunteering is... Well... I'm," Astoria began to mumble in a very low voice.

"What?" Patricia asked.

"I'm kind of in third year Potions," Astoria said this in a small voice. She didn't want to be judged. She'd been called _Snape's whore _by Mandy Brocklehurst, a Ravenclaw in that class, once.

"Astoria, you're brilliant! Why didn't you mention it earlier! I'm _so _proud of you!" Ginny exclaimed, hugging her. Patricia followed, and so did Luna.

"So I guess you can handle the complicated techniques, and we'll do all the basic ones," Ginny rationed.

Astoria nodded, "Now, all we have to worry about is find out how to get the Polyhither leaves, brew the Potion, ask Myrtle, and find out a good night to do go to her bathroom."

"The next full moon will be in two weeks- Friday to Sunday," Luna said. "Will the potion be finished by then?"

"Maybe," Astoria began,"but we'll need the leaves. It's kind of like a final garnishing, so I can start, but I have to have the leaves in ten days."

Ginny nodded, "We can handle that. You focus on the potion- we'll work on the leaves." Ginny looked uncertain yet determined.

"Let's worry about the leaves beginning tomorrow," Patricia said, "It's kind of a lot of planning to be done. Let's start by asking Myrtle for permission." Ginny and Luna sighed relieved. Everyone got up and headed for the bathroom.

* * *

As Ginny approached the door, she felt more and more nervous. She remembered very vaguely that this was where she was taken into the Chamber of Secrets. When she opened the door, she couldn't handle it. Her friends truly were the greatest! But, she felt like she needed, well, she needed _Harry_. This time, she didn't turn red; she turned pale. Ginny began to run back to the Gryffindor common room, but her friends grabbed her arm before she could go to far.

"Ginny?" Luna looked into Ginny's eyes.

"Ginny? Are you okay?" Patricia questioned.

"Ginny? Ginny?" The voices began to fade, and black spots dotted her vision, before Ginny could only see black.

* * *

**A/N: Wow, it's been awhile. I apologize for the two and a half month long hiatus, and for this crappy short chapter. I've gone back to my old ways...**

**-Benture**


End file.
